Sam Watson, a sofa salesman from California, was enjoying a baseball game with Andrew, his 8-year-old son. It was Andrews first baseball game so they were both excited. The sun was out, the crowd was electric and it was a day to remember, but it would be remembered for the wrong reasons. Midway through the game, Sam received a call notifying him that his wife, Lisa, and his 6-month-old twins, Laura and Katy, had been involved in a serious traffic incident.
They rushed to the hospital to find out that Lisa had survived with injuries but the twins did not. As the months went on, Lisa's recovery was going well but the loss of his twins resulted in Sam falling into a deep depression. He had become sick with worry. His nerves were shaken and his confidence was shattered. The times after the working day were filled with an empty void, a deep sadness.. He couldn't sleep, wouldn't eat and had lost a lot of weight. The doctors recommended sleeping pills, antidepressants and a holiday, none of which did any good.
One evening, while Sam was sitting on the sofa feeling sorry for himself, Andrew walked up to him with a model plane set he had got for Christmas. "Daddy, can we build this!", he said. "No son, not today, maybe later", Sam replied. But Andrew was persistent so Sam unwantingly agreed.
The model plane took about 5 hours to complete and by the time they were finished, Sam realised he felt grounded, a sense of mental relaxation and peace. The last time he felt this way was perhaps before the call he received during the baseball game months earlier. He had realised something, he realised that it was difficult to be mentally fixated on performing a task that required concentration, thinking and creativity, and be paralysed by worry and fear at the same time.
During the night, as he was having difficulty sleeping, he got up and walked around the whole house. He noticed the garden needed cleaning and maintaining, the classic car he had bought was still surrounded by boxes full of spare parts that needed replacing to be roadworthy, and that the house needed redecorating. He had compiled such a list that he went to bed at around 4 am, setting his alarm for 8 am to get up and get into action.
It has been almost a year a half and most of the things he had wanted to action have now been completed. This also had a positive impact on the health of his family too, as Sam springing into action motivated Lisa to take better care of herself and the family. They now have a morning routine of exercise, stretching and starting the day right with a healthy family breakfast.
Did getting busy solve the problem of Sam losing his beloved twins? No, it did not, nothing could change that. But it did solve his worry problem, and it is was this problem that could have been Sams mental, emotional and physical downfall.
Well done Sam, although most cannot comprehend what you have been through, you have shown mighty resilience and have made the best of a bad situation. Maybe you can learn a thing or two from Sam? I certainly did! Whenever I experience any minor waves of worry or fear, I simply spring into constructive action. This could be doing a yoga pose, completing a Spanish lesson or calling a friend. And if people like Sam who have gone through the worst of experiences can reignite their flame for life, why should we for one moment tolerate our moments of gloom and depression. Get busy! Stay Busy!
"I must lose myself in action, lest I wither in despair." -Alfred Lord Tennyson
Comments